Canelo Crime snaps up Victorian India historical crime thriller by Shylashri Shankar

Commissioning Editor Kit Nevile has acquired World English language rights to a new historical mystery series by Shylashri Shankar from James Wills at Watson, Little in a three-book deal.

In Blood Caste, the first book in the Murder in the Deccan series, rivalries flare between Chief Inspector Soobramania, an outcast Brahmin detective, and Inspector Wilberforce, a curmudgeonly British expat. Set against the backdrop of 1890s Hyderabad, they must join forces to uncover the truth behind a slew of killings bearing eerie similarities to the Ripper murders… has Jack returned once again?

Shylashri Shankar is an award-winning author, researcher, food historian, and political scientist. Her non-fiction book, Turmeric Nation: A Passage Through India’s Tastes, received the AutHer Award for Best Nonfiction in 2021. Her debut Blood Caste won the 2022 Spotlight First Novel Award and was also long-listed for the 2022 CWA Debut Dagger. She lives in New Delhi with her husband and cat.

Nevile says: ‘Blood Caste is a truly wonderful piece of crime fiction, ushering a complex and captivating mystery through a doorway into a vivid and fascinating period of history hitherto untouched by the genre. Shylashri explores with great skill the Ripper myth, the impact of colonialism and the caste system. I’m beyond excited to see the response from readers to the Murder in the Deccan series.’

Shankar says: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled that my book has found such a great home. It made me very happy to read Kit’s publishing proposal, which grasped the heart of Blood Caste – the struggle of an excommunicated Brahmin policeman with caste, class, and racial hierarchies and his uneasy alliance with a cantankerous British inspector to solve the mystery around the Ripper’s presence in the Deccan. I’m looking forward to working with Kit and the Canelo team on Blood Caste and its sequels.’

Wills says: ‘Blood Caste is a wonderful, atmospheric and hugely entertaining debut. Chief Inspector Soobramania, or Soob, is such a brilliant character and soon to be your new favourite detective.’

Blood Caste will be published in July 2025 in hardback and ebook, with a mass market paperback to follow in June 2026. The Scorpion Palace – a closed circle mystery – and a third untitled book will follow the same July/June schedules between 2026 and 2028.

For more information please contact [email protected]